What better way to spend a snowy day then to update you on a few things going on here at Jason Jilg Photography.

Over the past couple of weeks we have received some great news!  First, our Built By The Hand Of project has been received very well.  In fact, several pieces have been select for 2 upcoming shows, LaGrange National XXVII and PhotoSpiva.

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Freeman's Canteen

A few years ago Linda and I were in a museum looking at a Sol LeWitt exhibition.  There were also a number of other artists at the time with smaller exhibition.  As Linda and I were touring through the museum we were listening to other guests and their conversations.  It was clear to me that I didn’t understand contemporary art very well.  A video of a man under a table barking like a dog, or a photo of a dead skunk did not resonate with me.  Others seemed to love it.

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Card #1

It is that time of the year again.  The time for the Holiday Sale!!

This year’s holiday sale is a little different, so please allow me to take a few minutes and tell you why.

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What does cutting the legs off a pair of jeans have to do with make a photograph?  A lot more then you think.

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Teton Landscape

What a summer it has been.  I recently returned from almost 2 weeks in the Teton and Wind River Range area of Wyoming.  It was a welcome reprieve from the heat and humidity here on the flat land.

This summer has been one of the best art fair seasons we have had!  It has been a great time seeing return patrons and meeting new ones.  Thanks to all the have braved the heat to come out and see us!

Normally we start to slow down this time of the year.  We finish out the last remaining art fairs, and I get a few month to work on my personal photography projects.

That is NOT the case this year!!  As you can see from the list below we have many events scheduled over the next few months, and well into next year.  In addition to these “work” items, Linda and I are getting excited to have a new addition to our family in a few months!!

Here is a list of upcoming events:

• Hastings Art in the Park, Aug. 7
• Chadron State College Exhibition, Aug 25-Sep 26
• Lincoln Art Festival, Sep 24-25
• Badlands National Park, Pine Ridge Reservation, Oct. 1-10, Tentative
• Homestead National Monument, Oct 16-30
• Fred Simon Gallery, Omaha, April 9-May 18, 2012
• Minden Opera House, June 1-July 15, 2012

I am also in the process of building a couple of my own film and paper cameras for some of my projects, in talks for possible workshops in the Sandhills and Central Nebraska area, submitting to more galleries and museums, getting ready for next years art fair season, and in early talks for a couple of other projects and commissions.

I hope everyone enjoys the remaining few weeks of summer, stays cool, and remember to attend your local musical, visual, and performance art events!!

The summer season is off and running! I have been on the go for several months now. We had a GREAT show in Omaha last weekend, and realized we didn’t let you know we were there. So before any more events pass us by we wanted to take a minute and let you know where we will be at over the coming months.

June 17-18, Hastings Cottonwood Festival

June 25-26, Elkhorn Days

July 10, Kearney Art in the Park

July 17, Grand Island Art in the Park

August 7, Hastings Art in the Park

August 25-September 26, Solo Exhibition, Gallery 239, Chadron State College

September 24-25, Lincoln Art Festival

Come on out and enjoy the festivals, and pick up some GREAT Art! Remember we are clearing out studio space this year to make room for new pieces. With pieces as low as $5 and nothing over $200, even framed pieces, there is something for everyone!!! When they are gone they are gone, and we already sold a BUNCH last week in Omaha.

The art fair season is about to be upon us.  Like every year I spend a few weeks getting ready for the shows.  I unpacked all the pieces that have been at museum or gallery shows, print more loose prints,  and check over the tent and side panels.

This year is a little different then the past 4 years.  My wife would like her living room back, as well as a a couple of bedrooms.  I have been and continue to work on some new projects, but I am afraid my wife won’t let me take over the kitchen and the rest of the closet’s as storage space for my prints.

So, at this years art fairs I will be offering HUGE discounts for people that buy 2 or more pieces, either framed or loose prints.  Many of these pieces are award winners and have been in museums and galleries.  There is even some great color pieces!!!  

Be thinking EARLY for holiday gifts, graduation gifts, weddings, etc.  For those that can’t  attend an art fair email me you selections and I will get you a price with shipping. 

Also, because we are only limited to 10×10 space at each art fair I will not have all the pieces at each show.  As pieces sell new pieces will be brought in so check out as many shows as you can to get your pieces you really want! 

I have also been donating pieces to nonprofits for fund raisers.  If you are a 501(c) and would like a piece for a fundraiser, please email me.

Here is a tentative list of this 2011 art fairs

June 4-5, Countyside, Omaha

June 17-18, Cottonwood, Hastings

June 25-26, Elkhorn Days, Elkhorn

July 10, Kearney Art in the Park, Kearney

July 17, Grand Island Art in the Park, Grand Island (waiting on confirmation)

August 7, Libbs Park, Hastings

Sep. 24-25, Lincoln Arts Festival, Lincoln, (waiting on confirmation)

Hope to see everyone at the fairs!!

The other evening Linda and I were enjoying a nice windless Great Plains evening when I received a phone call from area code 505.  Most of the time after a certain hour I do not answer my phone, but this time I answered. 

On the other end was Reid Callanan, director of Santa Fe Photographic Workshops.  He had just called to tell me that the jurors for Light had chosen my piece, Guitar Study #1, as the second place winner out of 2777 images submitted by 751 photographers from 29 countries.

We had a nice chat about thepiece and the award and prize package.  It is just such an honor to receive such an award from people in the industry that see thousands of great photos every year. 

As part of the package I get a gift cerftificate towards a workshop in Santa Fe.  Now, which one do I choose?

I have always felt like where I grew up was a special place.  Just far enough away from larger communities with the big box stores, Broken Bow, NE has always maintained a very special environment and sense of community.  Now, I have the opportunity to spend the coming weeks and months back “home” photographing the people and landscape of my childhood.

This coming October I will be presenting several photography lectures at the Homestead National Monument.  The lectures will be on my Great Plains photography and how it relates to the homestead act.

After a little brainstorming  and mind mapping session, I came up with an idea for a special portfolio for these lectures.  Over the coming months I will be focusing on modern black and white photographs of Custer County in a tribute to Solomon Butcher. 

Solomon was the most prolific photographer of Nebraska homesteaders and their settlement of the state.  For many years he focused his lens on the residents of Custer County, so what better way to put together a dynamic lecture then to document  today’s Custer County residents.  To explore how our culture, landscape, and economics have changed, and how they have remained the same since Solomon’s era.

If you are from Custer County, or know someone who is, and would be interested in letting me photograph you and your family or property for this project please contact me.  As always, anyone who gives me permission to photograph them will get an signed, 8×10 print that I took for this project.  Also, some of the photographs in this project will become part of the National Parks permanent collection!

Thank you so much in advance!

Receiving a critique of one’s own photography work can be nerve racking, but if you leave yourself open it can be a great thing to help advance your work.

It is ironic that I gave photography critiques all weekend in Hastings to other photographers, and here I find a recent critique of my own work!

Paul Nielsen, of The Aesthetic Elevator, wrote a great article and insightful critique. He is very cohesive and articulate in his writing. A must read for those that attended the show.

Having read Paul’s article it is clear that, at least with him, I missed the mark that I was going for. In the rest of the artist statement (you have to read his article or attend the show to get the first part) I remarked:

“I try and focus my photographs on exploring this “in between” nature of time, place, and memory of the American Plains. I try to take photographs that tie people of the Plains together regardless of their generation, location, or memories. These images exist as single elements that make up the whole. They each have their own story, just as we each have our own, but combined, offer a more comprehensive perspective of the Plains.”

I tried to make the images exist as single elements that make up the whole. Even though I love the plains, it can be a daily visual and aesthetic challenge to “see”.  I find that this area is full of little visual stories that are separated by miles and miles of grass as well as time, space, and memory.  I tried to capture this in the show by showing each individual story in in its own frame, but yet the series as a whole making up the plains.

Like all good critiques, Paul’s article did get me thinking on how better  I could communicate this in my work.  What are your thoughts or suggestions on this?